Improvement in portable fences



W. W.v PUTTS.

Portable Fences.

No. 142,865. Patentedseprembenenss.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.,

WILLIAM W. POTTS, OF SWEDELAND, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN PORTABLE FENCES.

Specilication forniingpart of Letters Patent No. 142,865, dated September 16, 1873 application filed June 18, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, WILLIAM W. PoTTs, of Swedeland, in the county of Montgomery and State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improved Portable Fence, of which the following is a specication:

The object of my invention is to produce a portable fence for farm and other purposes, which will be simple and inexpensive ot'construction, and readily erected and removed, as occasion requires, whether on level or hilly land, and also, when erected, substantial and reliable; and my invention consists in the peculiar construction of the panels and their supporting braces or posts, substantially as hereinafter set forth and described.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of two of the I panels and one of the braces or posts erected.

Fig. 2 is a side view of one of the panels cornplete and ready for use. Fig. 3 is a side view of one of the braces or posts complete and ready for use.

Each of the panels A consists of any required or desired number of rails, a a', of equal lengths, secured at their ends to crossties a a, by means ot' a single bolt and screwnut, or rivet and collar, so that the said rails will be parallel to each other and at any desirable distances apart in the panel, and so also that the said rails may be, at any time during the erection of the fence, adjusted at right angles to the cross-ties a a, as shown in Figs. l and 2, to suit level ground, or obliquely, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, to suit sloping ground. The cross-tie a, of one end of each panel, is secured to one side of the rails a a', and the other cross-tie to the opposite side of the same panel, for reasons which will be hereinafter explained. The braces or posts B each consist of three fiat pieces, b b b, of the same material as the rails and crossties of the panels A, but generally about twice the width of the rails, cut with bevel ends, respectively, as shown in Figs. l and 3. rIhe upright pieces b b are rigidly Iixed together by means of the tiepiece b, and the screw-bolts, or rivets' and collars 3 3, so as to hold the two pieces b b iirmly together on opposite sides of the respective ends of the tie-piece b, as shown in Fig. 3, leaving a space, 4, which will be equal in its width to the thickness of two rails, between the upper ends of the pieces b b', as shown in the same figure. The under edge of the cross-tie b has a notch, 5, of the same Width as the space 4, and of such depth as will leave that part of the cross-tie b, which is immediately above the notch 5, equal in width to that of the space between the two middle rails of the panels, for reasons which will be hereinafter explained. The inclination of the pieces b b toward each other, at their upper ends, is intended to be sufficient to give a wide space between their lower ends, as shown, For the purpose of giving the said braces or posts B firm footing and stability to the same, and consequently to the fence, against the usual force of the wind, storms, Sac.

In erecting the fence, two ot' the panels A are to be held in upright positions with their respective rails a a in close contact side by side. The brace or post B is then turned into a horizontal position and introduced between the two middle rails, and the spaces et and 5 caused to embrace or receive the two upper and the two lower rails, respectively, by the operator turning the said brace or post B into its intended upright position, and thus causing the two top rails ot' the two panels to be embraced or received into the upper end ot' the space 4. The two panels are then drawn in longitudinal directions until the cross-ties a a, next to the post B, come into contact with the cross-tie b, respectively, as shown in Fig. l, and support the panels tirmly in the required upright positions. Supposin g Fig. 3 to represent the brace or post B in a horizontal position, and the dotted lines an edge view of the two rails, the manner described for inserting the said brace or post will be readily understood. After the rst pair of panels A A is erected, the others are added in succession in the same manner, except that the panel being added is the only one slipped longitudinally for the purpose.

It will now be understood why the tie-pieces a a of each panel are secured on opposite sides ot' the rails, and the tie-piece b of the brace or post B is fixed on opposite sides of the two pieces b b', as it will be observed that when the panels are stretched out to their full limits there will be only the thickness ot' the tie b between the connecting-ties a, a of the panels, and the corresponding rails et a ot' the said panels in close lapping contact with each other, respectively, and also, the long bevel edges of the pieces b b bearing directly against the three upper rails of each panel, respectively.

I claim as my invention- 1. The brace or post B, consisting of the pieces b b b, arranged and rigidly fixed together, with the piece b fixed to the opposite sides of the two pieces b' b', respectively, and leaving the space el between them, substanlongitudinally along on the other, and interlocked With the brace or post B, as described. Witnesses: WILLIAM W. IOTTS.

BENJ. MoRIsoN, WM. H. MORISON. 

